In Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Sri Krishna has promised that whenever and wherever there is a loss to the Dharma (Righteousness), then and there he will incarnate and uplift the dharma. Accordingly, in every Yuga He manifests himself on his own. As indicated earlier, this avathar has come with the name Haranath, in the form of son of Jayaram Benarjee and Bhagavathi Sundari Devi couple in Sonamukhi village of Bankura district, West Bengal on July 1st, 1865. Radha devi also has taken the form of daughter of Kandarpa Sunadara Bhattacharya, Chandravali couple with the name Kusuma Kumari in the same village on December 14th, 1870.

The avathar in which there are no four hands, and no destructive weapons, He has converted the culprits into the right by showering love with just one divine look. Not only in human beings, has He created the feeling of separation from God in birds, animals and beasts also. He has sprinkled love. As a result, the whole world was imbibed chanting “JAYA HARANATHA JAYA KUSUMAKUMARI JAYA”. World has become Brindavan.

As in all orthodox Brahmin families, upanayana sanskar (thread marriage) was performed to him also. Education continued up to B.A. Marriage was performed with Kusuma Kumari. They had children. Employment continued as teacher in Ayodhya near Sonamukhi for a short time and in Endowments department of Kashmir Sansthan for some more time. After Voluntary retirement, spirituality has been enlightened much more. While sathsang had been the blessing for the near and dear, far away people have realized themselves with letters. Making people crazy with devotion was the path chosen by Haranath. “PAGAL HARANATH letters” are the greatest treasure offered to the world. Some of the letters written by him to the devotees have been published as five parts and made available to all. They have been translated into many languages. They are wishing and impressing people of all the groups and all the continents in the same manner.

As a person, he has followed his chosen way of reciting the Name and chanting the Name with a great rigor. As a boy, requesting the teacher to train him how to write RADHEGOVINDA at the time of aksharaabhyasa (First initiation for studies) was his first step. By plowing the seed of love in his classmates, he made them sing the Name. Boy Haranath has conducted Harisabhas. In Harisabha everybody right from the child to the aged have been immersed in great joy on seeing Haranath singing and dancing in celestial joy with beetles tied to his legs on his own. This has developed much more during the study at college. He used to sit in meditative mood in the classrooms forgetting the body. Once the college time was over, and everyone has left, when peons touch him, he used to act as if he were sleeping and wake up and goes out of the class room. In those days, while going to Assam for his friend’s marriage, went into a deep transcendental meditative mood at the bank of Brahmaputra River and fell into the river. When he was flooded into the river for a distance, fishermen have caught him through a net and brought him outside. They have done the required services and brought him to normalcy. While working in Ayodhya, he has built a hut out of bushes along with his headmaster Khudiram and waited for nights together for the arrival of Lord Krishna into the hut.

While working at Kashmir, he used to go alone into forests at the outskirts in the evenings and used to spend hours together immersed in deep meditation. Snakes, birds and tigers used to approach him and embrace him in ecstatic joy. While discharging duties in the office he had to meet and go along with so many saints, sadhus, and fakirs. This has given him much more happiness. Days passed in sathsang and sathgoshthi (seminars) at temples and mosques.

In the month of April 1890, it happened that He died while traveling in a tanga (Horse cart) near Garhi village close to Domel. People near by to him have got him down from the tanga and started arrangements for cremation. After few hours He got life. After this transformation, his colour has changed from dark wheatish to white. It remained same throughout his rest of life.

Being an impediment to his spiritual life, he has retired from service voluntarily and dedicated for the uplift of the down trodden. Though he has left his physical body on 25-05-1927, without deviating from His path and without leaving us, who have believed Him, He has been continuing the fortification of his devotees, Mathrusree Kusuma Kumari also has been protecting the devotees following the footsteps of the Lord of her soul and merged in her husband leaving the physical body on 14-8-1956.

Sri Rama is visibly the God. But, when he has manifested himself in human form, Guru Brahmarshi Vasishta has taught him. He has explained knowledge of the truth and untruth. He has given Brahmasthra. Vasishta has made Rama a man of truth and savior of the right. Viswamitra has initiated mantras Bala, Atibala etc., and instructed him the intricacies of Dharma to eradicate the evil whenever there is a hindrance to the virtuous, without discriminating male or female. Viswamithra has made Rama a righter of wrongs. Parasurama has given vaishnava power and made Rama the Vishnu. Agasthya has taught him to recite and realize the Bharga of the God and control the devastation. That is why Sri Rama is full-fledged incarnation.

The same has happened in the life of Sri Haranath.

One mahapurusha with Super-natural body has pursued Haranath like a shadow and made Haranath perfect. He has appeared before the four year’s boy Haranath for the first time. His body is of Palmyra tree size. Divine energy is shining like a charka around the navel. He was wearing only a lion cloth. With an Upaveetham around the neck and a merciful smile he has approached the boy Haranath. Without any fear, Haranath has bowed at his feet. With the touch of the feet, Haranath became joyful. Electricity like Energy has entered him. With the transfer of divine energy, Boy Haranath has become highly energetic. After saying “”Hara ! Iam not not your Dwarakanath as what you are thinking” he has taken his feet away and gone by walking over the water surface of a pond near by and disappeared.

Dwarakanath, a close relative of Haranath has died some time back. Did Mahapurusha say like that because of either Haranath has imagined that whether the soul of Dwarakanath has appeared like that or not? Or feeling Dwarakanath as Sri Krishna, has He offered regards to Mahapurusha? No, definitely not.

It is the nature of common human beings to link the form that is explicitly visible to a name. When we say Rama, common people imagine a king with bow and arrows, when we say Krishna, a gorgeous person with a feather of peacock on his forehead and a flute in his hand is imagined. In contrast to this, a person who has come to caution us to be beyond this Name and Form is Mahapurusha (great person). That is why, Haranath has written at a later time “Though Names and Forms look different like Kali, Thara, Krishna, Siva etc., and they are all representatives of the Supreme Lord”.

Another time that Mahapurusha has appeared to Haranath during his college days, when he was wandering hours together for visiting the great pious people. When Haranath was watching the wonders being done by the siddhas, so called Mahatmas, Mahapurusha has appeared and taken him away. He advised and cautioned Haranath “It is not your destiny to waste time in seeing these magic”.

We believe that this will happen in this manner. If it happens different, we think “how it has happened”? If our thoughts do not converge and if our mind resolves that “This is impossible, it should not happen like this” then that incident is a wonder. If anybody intentionally does this, we call it his supremacy.

Man gets supremacy through sadhana (practice). He will waste them by wishing to get name and fame through exhibiting them to people. These powers are not for that. They should be utilized for the welfare of the world. For the manifested souls, these powers or siddhis are self-attained, natural and eternal. Like flower gets the fragrance in its bud state itself, those powers also are inherent for them. There is no need of any sadhana for them. But as the world follows them, they also act doing sadhana like others. Following the advice of Mahapurusha instead of exhibiting the powers, Haranath has transformed his inherent divine powers into eternal love and utilized for converting culprits to virtuous.

The greatest incident of Haranath with Mahapurusha has taken place at the time of death in Domel.

It was 1303 Saka era, 1896 A.D, Vaisakha 21st day afternoon 3 pm. Haranath has lost conscience. His companions got him down from tanga at Ghoraghali (on the way to Kashmir from Jammu). Body was made to lie on a cot. They wanted to give a telegram to Srinagar for cremation.

Haranath was there in the same state till night 1 am. Bell on Murri Hills was struck once. At that time one ray of light has emanated till his feet. Through that ray of light the same Mahapurusha has come opposite to Haranth. Mahapurusha said “Hara! You have died”. “Yes, I know that” replied Haranath. Mahapurusha has asked Haranath to come out of the body. Same thing has happened. Mahapurusha has separated the physical body into 64 parts. He has cleansed all the parts and tried to integrate them. Three parts were missing. He has prepared those three parts with the nearby red clay and has totally rebuilt the body of Haranath. Till that time Haranath who has come out of his body, was watching all this. Everything was visible to him without any hindrance. Haranath could see the roots of trees sucking the water; the fawn taking food inside her mother’s belly, scenery at the other side of the hills could be seen as if nothing were obstructed by the hills in between and everything was transparent like a mirror. After completing the body, Mahapurusha has instructed Haranath to enter into the body. Haranath has entered. Haranath has got life again. People who were there along with Haranath have noticed this. They were astonished – his dark wheetish colour has been changed to golden colour and glittery scintillating!!!

“This body has not come out of womb of any mother. If it were so, it would have been shattered into pieces a long ago with the burdens of sins of sinners and with the ailments of long-suffering. This is not woman born” said Haranath. Haranath has not seen Mahapurusha externally in later days. For inviting the diseases of the enduring and to make them get rid of their ailments, this new graceful body was very much useful.

Giving speeches on dais was limited to Janmothsav (Birthday Celebration) only. Wherever Haranath goes, with his natural witty and humorous conversation the doubts of the nearby known person used to be clarified though they were unasked. Any body used to raise doubt at any time. Though the issue was so complicated, answering it with a very easy and comprehensible manner was his specialty.

One day Haranath Baba has gone to the house of Sarath babu. That day was Sunday 12-07-1925. Many people have assembled. One among them, Sashanksekhar babu (income tax officer) has raised a doubt “Is God there”. In reply, Haranath has told “See, here is a book. There should be an author for this. Similarly, for this infinite universe also there is an originator. For any action, there is a definite purpose and doer”.

In an another incident held in Sarathbabu’s house only –

Question: “If we offer, will God eat? Then that substance should reduce. Is it not?”

Answer: God might have taken and returned the same substance in the same quantity as Prasad to you. This is the witness for his love. With his grace, the substance offered by you is being converted as Prasad.

One more Question: “Why do we chant mantras at the time of offering?”

Answer: When you are serving meal to anybody, how it will be if you go away after serving the food? Instead, how it will be if you sit nearer, and make him eat by enquiring affectionately “eat this, eat that, shall I serve this some more? Or shall I serve that some more?” Words that express this affection are the meaning of mantras.

Question: Is it necessary for a Vedanta or a Saint to wear saffron dress, putting kumkum and wearing rudraksha or thulasi garlands? Is it not a fashion?

Answer: Uniform is there for policemen. It is there for military also. Navy has some other uniform. On seeing the uniform, their job and department can be ascertained. Similarly, what is wrong for the people in spiritual path to wear a dress indicating their path? With this, the path they are following in their life will be known to all the people. Is it not?

Question: How to believe that if we see the manifestation of the God at the time of eyes closed with drowsiness while reciting the Name is true? Can it be an imagination? Should Manifestation be always visible to the naked eye…?

Answer: Thakur laughed and said “Then also it can be thought as an imagination”. That means if we feel it an imagination, it is an imagination. If we believe it Almighty, definitely it is Almighty. Fervor is important.